FALL RIVER — A local import business, which started in a three-car garage in 1988, is expanding its retail operation after purchasing a vacant mill in the city.

Portugalia Imports, a wholesaler in the food business, is one of two expanding Fall River companies that are getting a helping hand from the city to facilitate growth.

In September, the Fall River Office of Economic Development and City Council approved tax increment financing deals for the import business as well as for the Walter A. Furman Co., an architectural millwork company located at 180 Liberty St. The agreements must still be approved by the state.

Portugalia Imports sells specialty food items, mainly from Portugal, to restaurants and other companies, according to general manager Michael Benevides. The business added a retail operation in the 1990s which has been gradually growing, thanks to customer interest and better profit margins, he said.

While the business specializes in Portuguese products, its strongest product, salt cod, does not come from Portugal, Benevides said.

"We import it from Norway but it's a Portuguese national dish," he said.

Benevides runs the operation with his father, Fernando Benevides, who started the business in 1988. They recently purchased a mill to expand even more.

"Retail has done relatively well," said Benevides. "We wanted to give it its own space."

The new space will include a 15,000-square-foot retail site, called Portugalia Marketplace, which is more than quadruple what Portuglia Imports' had been using for retail. The business has been operating out of an approximately 7,000-square-foot space on Tremont Street which includes a warehouse and approximately 3,500 square feet of retail.

Portugalia Marketplace allows the company to add new features including a cafe and a beer and wine shop, Benevides said.

The new space also comes with ample parking, something that Benevides is counting on to create a more relaxed and casual atmosphere for customers.

"I want to create an ambiance so the customer stays a little. At the current location we have to kind of rush them out the door (because there's not enough parking)," he said. "Now that we have a little more space, I want people to smell and see and taste."

In addition to the marketplace, Portugalia will use about 3,500 square feet on an upper level for office space and is considering leasing additional office space, Benevides said.

The 25,000-square-foot mill was formerly occupied by Norbut Manufacturing.

The TIF agreement with the city is a five-year deal that was approved on Sept. 25, according to Lynne Creamer, FROED spokesman. The agreement, a 100 percent reduction in local taxes for the first year, drops 25 percent annually for the first four years and to 10 percent in the final year.

As part of the agreement, the company will be adding at least 12 jobs, Benevides said, mainly retail positions to staff the new Portugalia Marketplace. The company currently has about eight full time employees with additional part-time and seasonal positions, he said.

In addition to the jobs the city gains, Creamer said Portugalia's mill purchase fills an otherwise vacant space. "That's a big component (of the deal)," she said. "Taking up property that is otherwise not being utilized."

The Walter A. Furman Co. is also expanding its facility, according to FROED. In operation since 1954, the company produces premium quality architectural millwork for professional buildings.

That agreement, Creamer said, is for seven years with 100 percent reduction for the first three years dropping each subsequent year until reaching 25 percent in years six and seven.

The expansion will mean 30 new manufacturing and manufacturing-related jobs, added to the company's current 60 manufacturing-related positions.

"Our administration is committed to creating the business environment that the private sector needs to succeed and through a continued effort on public/private partnerships we will see persistent economic growth," said Mayor William A. Flanagan.